The Tempest Film Essays

The Tempest Film Essays The Tempest Film Paper The Tempest Film Paper Essay Topic: The Tempest Julie Taymor releases what she must think, is a ‘hopeful’ adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’. That’s all it is hopeful. Nothing more. The glimpses of creativity are outweighed by what seems at times, a laughable execution. Irrelevant of Prospero undergoing a sex change, Helen Mirren undeniably prospers as the female Prospera. Taymor’s change comes as an interesting twist, placing the character on a parallel with the evil witch Sycorax – something that, arguably, Shakespeare’s version fails to do. Moreover, it is arousing to see the conveying of the mother-daughter relationship between Prospera and Miranda unfold, in contrast to the original father-daughter relationship. However, for the larger part of the film it simply doesn’t do justice; ‘A noble stab at the Bard but ultimately an unsatisfactory film’ (A. HUNTER, Daily Express, March 4, 2011). Throughout the course of the film, I tried to remain optimistic. For every time Ben Whishaw pranced around butt-naked on my screen to my discomfort as Ariel, for every time the revolting, out-dated and overused CGI complemented by the irksome 70’s rock-like non diagetic score braced my senses, and for every time I sought to just wish a tempest upon Taymor, for tarnishing Djimon Honsou‘s dignity by casting him as an abominable Caliban – which dare I say John Gorrie’s 1980’s Caliban portrays more convincingly I remained patiently optimistic. But then it was too much to bear. The oddity that astounded completely was Russell Brand, appearing as, well himself. Brand isn’t suited for film. His overdramatic performance as Trinculo could prove effective in a potential stage adaptation, as Shakespeare’s comical characters are usually exaggerated. But never on film. It feels that Brand’s casting is associated purely, with the intent of attracting a younger audience – A form of trickery that even Prospera would be proud of. His very presence from the introduction seemed spoof-like. Even though I tried, I just could not him seriously, even as the drunkard that is Trinculo – a character that arguably is closer aligned to his real life personality! Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse Russell Brand, Djimon Honsou and Alfred Molina, all run across the frame, being chased by what seems like cartoon dog hounds – prancing and shrieking like melodramatic school girls. Simply atrocious. I was baffled as to whether the intended effect was to laugh with them or at them. I did neither – merely shook my head in disbelief. â€Å"You can easily go in a direction that makes Caliban a buffoon, but you’re missing when you do that†, quotes Taymor in an interview (when asked about the prospect of playing into stereotypes with the characterisation of Caliban). Maybe, just maybe, Taymor should acknowledge her own critiques, as in this case she is completely â€Å"missing† in her depiction (deja vu for Taymor need I mention her critically panned adaptation of Spider-Man). Taymor ‘’misses’’ out integral dynamics that Shakespeare strived so stoutly to establish; the love-hate relationship (prior to slave-master relationship) between Caliban and Prospero, and not to mention, the crucial epilogue, in which Prospero requests the audience to set him free – arguably the scene in which equilibrium is conclusively restored. If you happen to be in the cinema, wanting to see a compelling film adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s works, and are considering this one run. Run as far as you can and don’t look back. However, if you are in the company of precocious kids, and want a balance between Scooby-Doo type humour and a ‘tragicomedy narrative Julie Taymor’s ‘The Tempest’ is for you.

Timeline of the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War

Timeline of the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War U.S. troops had been in Vietnam for three years before the Tet Offensive, and most of the fighting they had encountered were small skirmishes involving guerilla tactics. Although the U.S. had more aircraft, better weapons, and hundreds of thousands of trained soldiers, they were stuck in a stalemate against the Communist forces in North Vietnam and the guerrilla forces in South Vietnam (known as the Viet Cong). The United States was discovering that traditional warfare tactics did not necessarily work well in the jungle against the guerrilla warfare tactics they were facing. January 21, 1968 In early 1968, General Vo Nguyen Giap, the man in charge of North Vietnams army, believed it was time for the North Vietnamese to make a major surprise attack on South Vietnam. After coordinating with the Viet Cong and moving troops and supplies into position, the Communists made a diversionary attack against the American base at Khe Sanh on January 21, 1968. January 30, 1968 On January 30, 1968, the real Tet Offensive began. Early in the morning, North Vietnamese troops and Viet Cong forces attacked both towns and cities in South Vietnam, breaking the ceasefire that had been called for the Vietnamese holiday of Tet (the lunar new year). The Communists attacked around 100 major cities and towns in South Vietnam. The size and ferocity of the attack surprised both the Americans and the South Vietnamese, but they fought back. The Communists, who had hoped for an uprising from the populous in support of their actions, met heavy resistance instead. In some towns and cities, the Communists were repelled quickly, within hours. In others, it took weeks of fighting. In Saigon, the Communists succeeded in occupying the U.S. embassy, once thought impregnable, for eight hours before they were overtaken by U.S. soldiers. It took about two weeks for U.S. troops and South Vietnamese forces to regain control of Saigon; it took them nearly a month to retake the city of Hue. Conclusion In military terms, the United States was the victor of the Tet Offensive for the Communists did not succeed in maintaining control over any part of South Vietnam. The Communist forces also suffered very heavy losses (an estimated 45,000 killed). However, the Tet Offensive showed another side of the war to Americans, one which they did not like. The coordination, strength, and surprise instigated by the Communists led the U.S. to realize that their foe was much stronger than they had expected. Faced with an unhappy American public and depressing news from his military leaders, President Lyndon B. Johnson decided to end the escalation of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.